In a work of this character, it is eminently proper that due notice be given to those men who, beginning life with small capital and under adverse circumstances, build for themselves a business and a reputation as men of sterling worth through the exercise of their talents and industry. Instead of waiting and wishing for opportunities, they accepted conditions as they arose, overcame obstacles and won success, and their examples are worthy of emulation by the young men of the present and future generations. Rufus L. Rochell, one of the leading grocers of Troy, Obion County, is a native son of Tennessee, having been born in Weakley County in 1853, and is the fifth of six children born to James H. and Nancy (King) Rochell, both members of old Tennessee families. James H. Rochell was a farmer in Weakley County prior to the Civil War. When that great conflict began he cast his lot with the South and served for the greater part of the contest as a soldier in the Confederate Army. The exposure and hardship incident to military life so undermined his health that he died soon after leaving the Army, and the subject of this sketch was called upon to contribute to the support of the widowed mother and the other members of the family. He managed to secure the rudiments of a good English education, but the greatest assets of his life have been a strong physical constitution and a determined will, both of which have been of incalculable benefit to him in the great battle of life.
Mr. Rochell first started in business for himself in Jackson, Tennessee, but in 1890 he removed to Troy, where he took charge of his brother’s business and purchased same the following year. Here he has built up a large patronage and established a reputation as one of the leading grocers of the busy little city and is now the oldest one in the town. His stock consists of a full line of staple and fancy groceries—the best and freshest that the market affords—and the people of Troy have a belief that if an article cannot be found at Rochell’s, they will probably have to go to some other city to procure it. February 9, 1910, Mr. Rochell’s place of business was completely destroyed by fire, causing him a loss of about $6000. He laughed at his disaster, however, and within a short time reestablished himself in his present quarters, where he has a room 24 by 70 feet well stocked with everything the good housewife is likely to need in her domestic economy. Good goods, full weight and correct business methods have ever been the principles that Mr. Rochell has applied to the management of his store, and the result is “once a customer, always a customer. “
Mr. Rochell is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Methodist Church. In his church and lodge, as well as in business and social life, he is a man whom it is well to know and one whose word can always be relied on in every particular. Mr. Rochell is unmarried.
Source: Hale, Will T, and Dixon L. Merritt. A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Company, 1913. Volume 5.
